Keeping Staff Motivated with The Right Incentive Program

How different would your company be if every employee was as motivated as you are? How much more productive would everyone be? And how much more profitable your company be?

Most employers complain about their employees’ lack of motivation.Lack of proper training, no recognition for a job well done, boredom in the work room, and no room for growth – to name a few, are some of the reasons why employees fail to deliver promising work, slack at the job or even worse – bad mouth your company.What most employers fail to realise, however, is that it is their responsibility to create a motivating environment and to implement the proper incentive program. A company your employees are happy to work for.Why would you want to make your employees happy? Happy employees are generally more motivated, provide better quality service and want  to do their best to get rewards. More importantly, customers prefer to deal with happy, engaging, and helpful people. In other words, happy employees means more loyal customers and higher profitability.​How effective are staff incentives?Both monetary or non-monetary incentives  have proven to be an effective answer to a slow-paced, dull and unhappy work environment. For example, Mercer Australian Benefits Review discovered in a 2001 study, that 76% of Australian companies use non-monetary incentive rewards to motivate their employees. That was up from 55% three years earlier.Company who have implemented incentive programs have reported the following benefits: increased employee morale and retention, easier to fresh talent, reduced absenteeism, increased output, and an overall improvement of the work environment.Incentives IdeasWhen devising your incentive program, make sure to include both monetary and non-monetary rewards. Not all employees respond to the same incentive and variety is needed for the incentive program in the longer term.In some cases, a word of recognition from a superior is all that is needed. In some cases, a financial bonus may be required. However, regardless of what incentives you adopt, always provide an explanation of why they are being rewarded.Here are some incentives ideas that have proven to be very effective:

• Send a ‘Thank you’ note (written and signed by you)
• Write about them in a company-wide post
• Gift them a book
• Invite the employee out to lunch
• Offer them movie tickets (for two)
• Offer them a gift voucher to a store they like or a pre-paid credit card
• Feature them in the company newsletter
• Hold a mini event at work
• Allow time-offs for family days

​Regardless of what incentives you adopt, remember that in many cases the simple things can be the most effective. Keep in mind that most of your employees want to do the right thing. Recognise good work, personal initiative, and creativity. The right incentive program will motivate your employees to achieve your company’s goals and challenge them out of their comfort zone.